Multiple hull vessels such as pontoon boats are widely employed both as work barges and pleasure craft. Typically such vessels employ a deck area disposed generally between a pair of buoyant hull members. This deck area is preferably constructed as large as possible to provide optimum accommodation for people and equipment. However, if the vessel must be transported occasionally on the highway its large size can prove a great hinderance. Not only does the boat require a fairly large trailer, it may be too wide to be legally transported over the road.
In an attempt to make multiple hull boats more readily transportable, a number of these vessels have been constructed to be collapsible. Certain conventional pontoon boats employ fairly complex gearing or linkage mechanisms for opening and closing the vessels. Others must first be removed from the water and then broken down so that they can be transported. Off course, such boats must be reassembled for subsequent use on the water. This can prove to be tedious and time consuming, particularly when the disassembly and reassembly is performed with the boat removed from the water. Accordingly, a strong need still exists for a multiple hull boat which provides an optimum deck size and yet which may be quickly and conveniently collapsed into a legally transportable size. Additionally, the need exists for a multiple hull vessel that may be quickly and conveniently collapsed and expanded while still afloat.